In this article, we explore Skipton Building Society's new mortgage product transfer range, explaining who can qualify, the fees that are charged on it and crucially, how this compares with other remortgage deals in the market. We also explain how to get the right guidance to ensure you choose the best remortgage deal for your particular circumstances.
Product transfer range announced by Skipton Building Society
The new range of product transfer deals announced by Skipton Building Society offers market-leading interest rates as low as 3.35%, however, the rate you will be offered is dependent on the amount of equity you have in your home.
Below we highlight the product transfer rates, lender fees and mortgage limits on offer from Skipton Building Society.
Skipton Building Society 2-year fixed rate transfer rates
Interest rate | LTV^ | Completion fee^ | Minimum mortgage loan amount | Maximum mortgage loan amount |
3.35% | 60% | 5% | £5,000 | £3,000,000 |
3.39% | 75% | 5% | £5,000 | £3,000,000 |
3.49% | 85% | 5% | £5,000 | £800,000 |
3.59% | 90% | 5% | £5,000 | £600,000 |
^LTV is the loan-to-value calculated by dividing the mortgage loan amount by the value of your home and the completion fee is a percentage of your mortgage loan balance
The new mortgage product transfer range is available until 31st January 2024 and the rate will revert to 6.24% at the end of the 2-year deal period rising to 6.79% 5 years after the original start date.
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Qualifying for Skipton’s new mortgage range
The new range of mortgage transfer rates announced by Skipton is available to existing Skipton mortgage customers with a mortgage balance that fits the minimum and maximum loan amount criteria (see the above table).
You will need to meet Skipton's mortgage product transfer eligibility criteria and have at least 10% equity in your property.
Charlotte Harrison, CEO of Skipton Home Finance said: “We will always work directly with our borrowers to understand their personal situations and work with them on a solution that is most suited to them and their circumstances. This range of mortgages presents another option for our members – it’s not to say, that they will be right for everyone. We really encourage all homeowners to be aware of what help is available from their lenders. If they’re worried they’re going to get into financial difficulty please do reach out to your lender. The sooner a person gets into contact with their lender the more options they have available to them to help tackle the problem early.”
How does Skipton’s new mortgage range compare
The remortgage rates offered by Skipton are significantly lower than other remortgage deals in the market however, it comes with a comparatively high lender fee of 5%.
For example, if your mortgage balance is £225,000 and your home is valued at £250,000 (90% LTV), Lloyds Bank offers a remortgage rate of 5.93% and charges a lender fee of £1,570. Although Skipton's rate is only 3.59%, the lender fee using this example would be £11,250 which is much higher, indicating that Skipton's mortgage customers should consider the overall cost of the transfer deal carefully and compare this with other lenders.
Using the same example, if your mortgage term is 25 years, your mortgage payment with Lloyds Bank would be £1,440 each month while the Skipton product transfer deal would mean the same customer would pay £1,137 per month, saving over £300 a month. This assumes that the lender fee - in this case, £11,250 - was paid upfront and not added to the mortgage loan amount.
Skipton will allow customers to add the mortgage fee to their mortgage balance but this will increase the monthly payment as well as the overall cost of the mortgage over the deal period and beyond. Skipton's mortgage customers who choose to add the mortgage fee to the mortgage loan can expect the monthly mortgage payment, using the same example, to increase by £57 to £1,194.
You can find the best remortgage rates in the market based on your particular circumstances using our mortgage rate comparison tool which allows you to sort your results by lowest interest rate as well as the lowest overall cost over your deal period or indeed, over the entire term of your mortgage.
How to get the best remortgage deal for you
Working out which mortgage deal to switch to if your current mortgage deal is ending can be tricky due to the number of variables that need to be considered. Most mortgage customers are initially keen to keep mortgage payments as low as possible to ensure they are affordable and leave enough room for other essential household outgoings. However, this has to be weighed up against the overall cost so you should always take mortgage fees into consideration, especially if these are to be added to your mortgage loan. Not only will a higher mortgage balance increase your monthly mortgage payment but it may also affect the mortgage rates that will be available to you once you come to the end of this deal, as the loan-to-value (LTV) may be higher.
The best way to ensure you choose the right mortgage deal is to speak with a specialist mortgage broker* who can search the market for the latest mortgage deals on your behalf and provide bespoke guidance based on their expert knowledge of the mortgage market. You can also search for a mortgage professional local to you using the online professional directory, VouchedFor* where you can make your selection based on reviews submitted by other mortgage customers.
Often, lenders will offer mortgage deals through mortgage intermediaries that are not available directly to customers so you will also expand your search by choosing this method to remortgage.
You can find current rates for remortgaging as well as a guide to remortgaging in our article, 'Best remortgage deals in the UK'. If you are unsure as to whether you should remortgage or simply transfer to a new mortgage with your existing lender, you will also find useful information that will help you in our article 'What is a product transfer mortgage and is it better than a remortgage?'.
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